Methodology: The national average credit card APR is comprised of 100 of the most popular credit cards in the country, including cards from dozens of leading U.S. issuers and representing every card category listed above. Introductory, or teaser, rates are not included in the calculation.

This week marks the fifth straight week that the national
average annual percentage rate (APR) on new card offers has remained at 15
percent. It's also the 13th consecutive week that average rates have hovered just above
14.96 percent.

None of the cards featured rate changes this week. That's become the norm in today's placid card climate. Since Jan. 1, average
APRs on new card offers have remained the same 28 weeks out of 42.

For the past two years, issuers have largely refrained from
making big changes to credit card interest rates. For example, the average APR for
all of 2012 is currently 14.95 percent. During the same period in 2011, the
average APR for the year clocked in at 14.8 percent.

Experts say the soft economy and consumers' unwillingness to
take on significant amounts of debt until they shed what they already have is
creating an uncertain climate for card issuers.

Until the economy rebounds more forcefully, card issuers are
unlikely to go after new customers as aggressively, say experts, and credit card terms are likely to stay relatively tight (which in industry-speak means
tougher on consumers) for some time.

Late payments up slightly
One bright spot for credit card issuers in the past few
years has been a steady decline in the number of cardholders who are missing payments
on their credit cards.

The drop in the number of cardholders falling behind on their bills has made it easier for issuers to trust that a healthy number of new
and current credit card customers are financially stable enough to pay at least the minimum amount due on their cards, despite ongoing economic uncertainty.

That trend came to a halt in September, however, when five
out of seven major credit card issuers saw late payments on credit cards rise, according to multiple reports.

The bump in the number of cardholders who missed payments by
30 days or more was slight and delinquencies overall are still down since last
year, said analysts at the financial services firm Keefe, Bruyette and Woods in
a research note released Oct. 15.

Among the top six credit card issuers, Chase, Bank of America, Capital One, Citi, American Express and Discover, Citi was
the only major issuer to see delinquency rates decline. That said, all six banks have seen big drops in the number of cardholders missing
payments since this time last year.

Charge-offs (which are late payments that banks have lost hope
of ever recovering) took a different course, falling in September for the third
straight month. Overall, credit card charge-offs are down significantly since 2011, according to data published by Keefe, Bruyette and Woods.

Both charge-offs and delinquencies have dropped sharply since
2010, which is welcome news for both consumers and banks. The steep decline in the number of households that can't pay their bills underscores the fact that consumers' finances are substantially healthier than they were in the
immediate aftermath of the recession, despite a weaker-than-expected economic recovery.

We encourage an active and insightful conversation among our users. Please help us keep our community civil and respectful. For your safety, do not disclose confidential or personal information such as bank account numbers or social security numbers. Anything you post may be disclosed, published, transmitted or reused.

If you are commenting using a Facebook account, your profile information may be displayed with your comment depending on your privacy settings. By leaving the 'Post to Facebook' box selected, your comment will be published to your Facebook profile in addition to the space below.

The editorial content on CreditCards.com is not sponsored by any bank or credit card issuer. The journalists in the editorial department are separate from the company's business operations. The comments posted below are not provided, reviewed or approved by any company mentioned in our editorial content. Additionally, any companies mentioned in the content do not assume responsibility to ensure that all posts and/or questions are answered.

See the online credit card applications for details about the terms and conditions of an offer. Reasonable efforts are made
to maintain accurate information. However, all credit card information is presented without warranty. When you click on
the "Apply Now" button, you can review the credit card terms and conditions on the issuer's web site.

Related Sites

ADVERTISER DISCLOSURE CreditCards.com is an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. The offers that appear
on this site are from companies from which CreditCards.com receives compensation. This compensation may impact how
and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they appear within listing categories.
Other factors, such as our proprietary website's rules and the likelihood of applicants' credit approval also impact
how and where products appear on the site. CreditCards.com does not include the entire universe of available financial
or credit offers.

Advertiser Disclosure

CreditCards.com is an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. The offers that appear on this site are from companies from which CreditCards.com receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and the likelihood of applicants' credit approval also impact how and where products appear on this site. CreditCards.com does not include the entire universe of available financial or credit offers.